Sweat Absorption Assembly

ABSTRACT

A sweat absorption assembly for protecting headwear from sweat includes a plurality of mating mount components that are configured to removably attached a sweatband to a baseball cap. The mounting components include mating socket portions and stud portions coupled to a mount band of the sweat absorption assembly and the rim of a cap. An absorbing member of the sweat absorbing assembly is elongated and is positionable on the mount band and removably to be cleaned.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to sweat absorption devices and more particularly pertains to a new sweat absorption assembly and kit for protecting headwear from sweat.

BACKGROUND

When wearing baseball caps and other hats, whether engaged in sporting activity or not, the wearer's forehead can become sweaty and even more so than when not wearing a cap. While baseball caps and other hats sometimes have an absorbent material along the inner band to absorb sweat, the bands are neither highly absorbent nor readily washable or replaceable and thus can quickly become stained and unable to be cleaned. There have been attempts to add a removable sweat absorbing material to hats however the attachment and removal means have been bulky and cumbersome to use. For the forgoing reasons, there is a need for an improved removable sweat absorption assembly for hats.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present disclosure solves the problems presented above by generally providing a means for adding an easily removable absorbing member or sweatband to existing caps and hats using a template, punch, and perspiration or sweatband with a plurality of mounting components for removably attaching the absorbing member or sweatband to a baseball cap or other type of hat. The mounting components each preferably comprise a stud, a socket and a washer. The absorbing member is preferably an elongated absorbent material mounted to a semi rigid mount band member fitted with either a plurality of socket or stud portions of the mount components with a corresponding mating socket or stud fixed to the cap rim.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

While the disclosure above and the detailed disclosure below are presented herein in the context of a baseball cap, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the concepts may be applied to other types of caps in various ways where there is a beneficial advantage to a removable sweatband. With the foregoing overview in mind, specific details will now be presented, bearing in mind that these details are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be exclusive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various non-limiting examples and innovative aspects of the sport snorkel in accordance with the present description:

FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of a sweat absorption assembly on a baseball cap according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of a sweat absorption assembly on a baseball cap according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a sweat absorption assembly kit according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a sweat absorption assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a sweat absorption assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a sweat absorption assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7a-b are perspective views of a socket assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the punch used to install sockets according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 8 thereof, a new sweat absorption assembly embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure will be described.

With reference to FIGS. 1 through 8, the sweat absorption assembly 10 generally comprises an absorbing member or sweatband 20, a mount band 32, and a plurality of mounting components 34. The sweatband assembly kit further includes a punch template 44 and a punch 46.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the absorbing member or sweatband 20 is mounted to an inner side 32 a of an elongated mount band 32. The mount band 32 and absorbing member 20 are adapted to be secured to a cap or hat 26 with a plurality of mounting components 34. Each mounting component 34 preferably comprises a plurality of mating first mounting portions 36 and second mounting portions 38. The first mounting portions 36 are disposed on the outer side 32 b of the mount band 32. The first mounting portions 36 are adapted and positioned to mate with corresponding mating second mounting portions 38 on the outer side 28 b of cap rim 28.

The absorbing member 20 is preferably made of an absorbent material such as cotton, microfiber or terry cloth, and may have a soft or fluffy inner side 20 a facing the wearer's forehead for comfort and improved sweat absorption and a smooth outer side 20 b to enhance connection to the inner side 32 a of the mount band 32. The absorbing member 20 may be attached to the mount band 32 such as by an adhesive, by wrapping the sweatband around the mount band 32 like a fitted sheet (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 8,393,014, FIGS. 3 and 4, which patent is incorporated by reference herein), or by inserting the mount band 32 in a void in the absorbing member 20 when formed from a loop of material. The absorbing member 20 and mount band 32 are preferably arcuate to follow the contours off a cap rim.

Referring to FIGS. 3-5, the mounting components are composed of a plurality of first and second mating mounting portions 36, 38. The first mounting portions 36 are disposed on the outer side 32 b of the mount band 32. The second mounting portions 38 are fixedly attached to the cap rim 28 so that the first and second mounting portions 36, 38 are aligned and mate when the sweat absorption assembly 10 is correctly positioned and attached to the cap 26. In the embodiments shown the sweat absorption assembly 10 preferable uses three mounting components 34 in spaced relationship along the mount band 32 with the first mounting components 34 being disposed proximal to a first end of the mount band 32, proximal to the midpoint of the mount band 32, and proximal to a second end of the mount band 32. In alternate embodiments there may be more or fewer mounting components.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the second mounting portions 38 are disposed and arranged to align and engage with the corresponding first mounting components 36, which work to lock the sweat absorption assembly 10 to the cap rim 28.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, in certain embodiments the first mounting portions 36 are studs 37 extending from the inner side 32 a of the mount band 32, and the second mounting portions 38 are socket assemblies 39. The studs 37 comprise a stud post 37 a extending from the mount band 32 on one end and have a stud ridge 37 b on the opposite free end. The studs 37 are arranged on the mount band 32 to pass through holes in the cap rim 60 and engage sockets 39. In other embodiments this arrangement may be reversed with the sockets 39 on the mount band 32.

The sockets 39 are shown and described in further detail with respect to FIGS. 6, 7 a and 7 b. The sockets 39 are preferably fixed to the rim 28 so that they do not fall out or get lost when the sweat absorption assembly 10 is removed. Each socket as shown in FIGS. 7a and 7b preferably includes a socket body 40 having a socket body flange 40 a at its base, a socket body post 40 b extending from the socket body flange, and a socket body ridge 40 c at the free end of the socket body post 40 b. The socket 39 also includes a mating socket lock washer 41 having a socket center orifice 41 a, which is sized to receive the socket body post 40 b, and the ridge 40 c is configured to hold the socket lock washer 41 on the socket body post 40 b. The socket 39 is thus configured to lock in the holes of the rim 28 of the cap 26 by sandwiching the rim 28 between a flange 39 a of the socket body and socket lock washer 41. In other embodiments the mounting components may be reversed and the stud portion of the assembly may be attached to the rim 28 of the cap 26 and the socket portion may be integrated in the mount band 32.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 8, a punch 46 and punch template 42 are used to punch holes in the rim of the cap 26 so that the holes align with the positions of the first mounting portions 36 on the mount band 32. The punch template 42 has holes 44 spaced and aligned to correspond to the locations of the first mounting portions 36 on the mount band 32. The punch template 42 is aligned with the cap rim 28. The punch 46 has a sharp cutting end 48 which is placed in the punch template holes and used to punch holes in the cap rim 28.

The second mounting portions 38 are then installed on the rim 28 of the cap 26. In one embodiment where the rim side mounting components are sockets 39, the socket bodies 40 are inserted through one side of each hole and extend out of the other side of each hole. The user then mounts the socket body lock washers 41 on the socket body post 40 b to sandwich the rim of the cap 28 between the two pieces and lock the socket 39 in place. The sweat absorption assembly 10 can then be installed in the cap 26 by inserting the first mounting portions 36 into the second mounting portions 38. The sweat absorption assembly 10 can be removed and reinstalled for cleaning. The sweatband assembly 10 may be retrofitted to existing baseball caps 26 or hats or may be integrated into new ones.

It should be understood that this description (including the figures) is only representative of some illustrative embodiments. For the convenience of the reader, the above description has focused on representative samples of all possible embodiments, and samples that teach the principles of the disclosure. The description has not attempted to exhaustively enumerate all possible variations. That alternate embodiments may not have been presented for specific portion of the disclosure, or that further undescribed alternate embodiments may be available for a portion, is not to be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments. One of ordinary skill will appreciate that many of those undescribed embodiments incorporate the same principles of the disclosure as claimed and others are equivalent. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sweat absorption assembly configured for protecting headwear from sweat, said assembly comprising: an absorbing member being elongated and composed of a liquid absorbent material; a mount band being elongated and being configured to receive and hold the absorbing member; a plurality of mounting components each comprising a first mounting portion and a second mating portion adapted to removably mate with each other, wherein each first mounting portion is attached to the mount band, and each second mounting portion is configured to be fixedly attached to a cap, wherein each first mounting portion comprises one of a stud or a socket and each second mounting portion comprises one of a mating stud or socket.
 2. The sweat absorption assembly configured for protecting headwear from sweat according to claim 1, wherein all of the first mounting portions are studs and all of the second mounting portions are sockets.
 3. The sweat absorption assembly configured for protecting headwear from sweat according to claim 1, wherein all of the first mounting portions are sockets and all of the second mounting portions are studs.
 4. The sweat absorption assembly configured for protecting headwear from sweat according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first mounting portions is a stud and at least another of the first mounting portions is a socket, and wherein at least one of the second mounting portions is a socket and at least another of the second mounting portions is a stud configured to mate with a corresponding first mounting portion.
 5. The sweat absorption assembly configured for protecting headwear from sweat according to claim 1, wherein the studs have a stud post and stud ridge, and the sockets having a socket body and a socket lock washer, the socket body having a socket body flange, a socket body post and a socket body ridge, the socket lock washer having a socket center orifice, the socket center orifice configured to receive the socket body post and the socket body ridge configured to hold the socket lock washer on the socket body post, whereby the socket can be attached to a hole is the rim of a cap.
 6. The sweat absorption assembly configured for protecting headwear from sweat according to claim 1, wherein there are three mounting components.
 7. The sweat absorption assembly configured for protecting headwear from sweat according to claim 2, wherein the first mounting portions comprise a first, second and third studs attached to the mount band and the second mounting portions comprises a first, second and third socket, wherein the first stud is disposed proximate to a first end of the mount band, the second stud is disposed proximate to a center of the mount band and the third stud is disposed proximate to a second end of the mount band, and wherein the second mounting portions are adapted to be fixedly attached to a cap in corresponding locations to mate with the studs.
 8. The sweat absorption assembly configured for protecting headwear from sweat according to claim 1, further comprising: a punch template; and a punch, wherein the punch template is sized to align with the rim of a cap and wherein the punch template has a plurality of holes, and wherein the holes are disposed to align with a position of a first mounting portion on the mount band, and wherein the punch is configured to have sharp cutting end sized to punch a hole in a cap for receiving one of the stud post or the socket body post.
 9. A sweat absorption assembly configured for protecting headwear from sweat, said assembly comprising: an absorption member being elongated and composed of a liquid absorbent material; a mount band being elongated and being configured to receive and hold the absorption member; and a set of three mounting components each having a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion, the first mounting portions being attached to the mount band, and the second mounting portions configured to be fixedly attached to a cap, wherein first mounting portions are a first, second and third stud and the second mounting portions are a first, second and third sockets, each stud having a stud post and stud ridge, and each socket having a socket body and a socket lock washer, each socket body having a socket body flange, a socket body post and a socket body ridge, each socket lock washer having a center orifice, the center orifice configured to receive the socket body post and the socket body ridge configured to hold the socket lock washer on the socket body post, whereby the socket can be attached to a hole is the rim of a cap, and wherein the first stud is disposed proximate to a first end of the mount band, the second stud is disposed proximate to a center of the mount band and the third stud is disposed proximate to a second end of the mount band. 